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COME TO MIAMI BEACH AUG, 21 TO PROTEST NIXON'S WAR:
"NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO LET UP THE PRESSURE"
LIBERATION News Service
MIAMI BEACH (LNS) -- Why? Why travel to Miami
Beach this August to demonstrate against Nixon at
the Republican National Convention? It's a question
that a lot of people all around the country are asking themselves right now as D-Day, August 21, gets
closer and closer.
And it's a question that a lot of people answer with a despairing shrug of the shoulders and
a "Why bother?" reply. That despair is not imaginary; it's a real feeling for many of us and difficult to ignore. The anti-war movement's initial
angry response this past spring to the mining of
North Vietnam's harbors and the stepped-up bombing,
while it reverberated from coast to coast in cities
and towns never before touched by an anti-war demonstration, was not sustained.
And Nixon continues to bomb the dikes more ferociously than ever and there does not seem to be any
way to stop him. So what is_ the use? Why travel
so far to just one more demonstration?
Well there are reasons -- and good ones -- to
go down to Miami Beach this August, Before we
drown in our despair, let's look them over.
First of allj on a gut level there's Nixon,
Nixon, the man who has dropped more bombs over
Indochina in the last three months than LBJ managed
to drop in a whole year; who opposes abortion on
the grounds that he can not "square it with my
belief in the sanctity of human life;" who nominated
four Supreme Court justices who have (just to
mention a few decisions) abolished the unanimous
jury, smashed the right of the press to keep their
news sources confidential,, and encouraged the use
of grand juries to intimidate the left,
Nixon, the man who initiated a welfare plan
whereby recipients must work at degrading, below
minimum wage jobs; who has introduced anti-strike
legislation which would make any transportation
strike (planç, ship, truck or rail) illegal if it
"dangers the national economy;" and who congratulated New York Governor Rockefeller on his handling
of the Attica rebellion in which 43 prisoners and
guards were massacred by Jaw enforcement officials.
This is the Nixon we have lived with for three
and a half years and the thought of allowing his
semi-coronation to go unchallenged amidst the
plastic opulence of Miami Beach is repulsive»
For most people the Vietnam war is the key
issue. Elected in 1968 with the promiseiof a "just
and honorable peace," Nixon has instead done everything in his power -- phony troop withdrawal claims,
"Vietnamization," 8-point peace plans and sabotage
of the Paris talks -- to distract Americans from
the fact that he ha=, actually increased our involvement in Indochina, Miami Beach is a chance to protest that war again.
This time the straight media will not be able
to ignore and isolate us as they did last spring
with their determined lack of anti-war demonstration
PAGE ï
LIBERATION News Service
coverage across the country. Every TV camera and
microphone will be aimed at this once-every-four-
years event and the demonstrations surrounding it.
In 1968 in Chicago, that media coverage helped
show people all over the country that there are indeed many many people who actively oppose the war.
There can never be one too many anti-war demonstrations ,
For the Vietnamese our visible opposition to
the war is of tremendous importance. In the past
they have been greatly encouraged by our mass
demosstrations even if to us they often seem impotent and meaningless »
A fairly common argument used to oppose plans
for large demonstrations during the Republican
Convention goes something like this: "If you
really want to end the war why don't you stay home
and work for McGovern especially now that he has
been nominated? Don't you realize that Nixon will
use any demonstration against him to connect McGovern with the radical left, thereby discrediting
him and securing his own re-election?,"
Taken to its logical conclusion, that argument says that we should never demonstrate for
fear of alienating politicians who might be sympathetic to our demands, or else we might create a
backlash that would throw an election into the
hands of more conservative, right wing types.
But the facts indicate otherwise» It has
been the anti-war movement, starting with a small
core of people back in the early sixties, and demonstration after demonstration that has caused an
overwhelming majority of Americans to favor immediate withdrawal of all U.S» forces from Indochina, The anti-war movement made this year's
decidedly more liberal Democratic Convention and
McGovern's very candidacy a reality -- and Nixon's
defeat a possibility.
Washington '65, Chicago '68, Cambodia '70 --
the effect of the increasing pressure from the
left has been pretty extensive. - The fact that the
Republican Party decided to move the convention to
Miami even after so much time and money (and political wheeling and dealing) had been sunk into the
San Diego site is in large part proof of their fear
of another massive demonstration in 1972. And
now is not the time to let up on that pressure,
Nixon must not be allowed to escape the fact that
so many people oppose him, And McGovern must know
that we intend to keep the heat on him too -- that
assuming he is elected, any reneging on his promises
will not be tolerated,
Nixon will try to discredit McGovern as a
radical -- giving "aid and comfort to the enemy" --
whether the Republican convention is left in peace
or not j, that's assured, And McGovern and his aides
will have to deal with that if they want to win the
election» We can't sit back quietly and hope that
McGovern is elected and then count on him to follow
through with an end to the war; it is our responsibility to continue to raise our voices loud and
clear against the war, to force politicians to deal
with our demands„
Maybe ail these reasons for heading south.in
(#452) July 22, 1972 more,..

Copyright belongs to the individuals who created them or the organizations for which they worked. We share them here strictly for non-profit educational purposes. If you believe that you possess copyright to material included here, please contact us at asklibrary@wisconsinhistory.org. Under the fair use provisions of the U.S. copyright law, teachers and students are free to reproduce any document for nonprofit classroom use. Commercial use of copyright-protected material is generally prohibited.

Owner

GI Press Project/Private Collection; The International Institute of Social History Library Collections: Gift of John Mage; The International Institute of Social History Library Collections; Brünn, Harris Watts Collection - Serials and Press Release Soldiers Movements, International Institute of Social History, Amsterdam

Copyright belongs to the individuals who created them or the organizations for which they worked. We share them here strictly for non-profit educational purposes. If you believe that you possess copyright to material included here, please contact us at asklibrary@wisconsinhistory.org. Under the fair use provisions of the U.S. copyright law, teachers and students are free to reproduce any document for nonprofit classroom use. Commercial use of copyright-protected material is generally prohibited.

Owner

GI Press Project/Private Collection; The International Institute of Social History Library Collections: Gift of John Mage; The International Institute of Social History Library Collections; Brünn, Harris Watts Collection - Serials and Press Release Soldiers Movements, International Institute of Social History, Amsterdam

Full text

COME TO MIAMI BEACH AUG, 21 TO PROTEST NIXON'S WAR:
"NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO LET UP THE PRESSURE"
LIBERATION News Service
MIAMI BEACH (LNS) -- Why? Why travel to Miami
Beach this August to demonstrate against Nixon at
the Republican National Convention? It's a question
that a lot of people all around the country are asking themselves right now as D-Day, August 21, gets
closer and closer.
And it's a question that a lot of people answer with a despairing shrug of the shoulders and
a "Why bother?" reply. That despair is not imaginary; it's a real feeling for many of us and difficult to ignore. The anti-war movement's initial
angry response this past spring to the mining of
North Vietnam's harbors and the stepped-up bombing,
while it reverberated from coast to coast in cities
and towns never before touched by an anti-war demonstration, was not sustained.
And Nixon continues to bomb the dikes more ferociously than ever and there does not seem to be any
way to stop him. So what is_ the use? Why travel
so far to just one more demonstration?
Well there are reasons -- and good ones -- to
go down to Miami Beach this August, Before we
drown in our despair, let's look them over.
First of allj on a gut level there's Nixon,
Nixon, the man who has dropped more bombs over
Indochina in the last three months than LBJ managed
to drop in a whole year; who opposes abortion on
the grounds that he can not "square it with my
belief in the sanctity of human life;" who nominated
four Supreme Court justices who have (just to
mention a few decisions) abolished the unanimous
jury, smashed the right of the press to keep their
news sources confidential,, and encouraged the use
of grand juries to intimidate the left,
Nixon, the man who initiated a welfare plan
whereby recipients must work at degrading, below
minimum wage jobs; who has introduced anti-strike
legislation which would make any transportation
strike (planç, ship, truck or rail) illegal if it
"dangers the national economy;" and who congratulated New York Governor Rockefeller on his handling
of the Attica rebellion in which 43 prisoners and
guards were massacred by Jaw enforcement officials.
This is the Nixon we have lived with for three
and a half years and the thought of allowing his
semi-coronation to go unchallenged amidst the
plastic opulence of Miami Beach is repulsive»
For most people the Vietnam war is the key
issue. Elected in 1968 with the promiseiof a "just
and honorable peace" Nixon has instead done everything in his power -- phony troop withdrawal claims,
"Vietnamization" 8-point peace plans and sabotage
of the Paris talks -- to distract Americans from
the fact that he ha=, actually increased our involvement in Indochina, Miami Beach is a chance to protest that war again.
This time the straight media will not be able
to ignore and isolate us as they did last spring
with their determined lack of anti-war demonstration
PAGE ï
LIBERATION News Service
coverage across the country. Every TV camera and
microphone will be aimed at this once-every-four-
years event and the demonstrations surrounding it.
In 1968 in Chicago, that media coverage helped
show people all over the country that there are indeed many many people who actively oppose the war.
There can never be one too many anti-war demonstrations ,
For the Vietnamese our visible opposition to
the war is of tremendous importance. In the past
they have been greatly encouraged by our mass
demosstrations even if to us they often seem impotent and meaningless »
A fairly common argument used to oppose plans
for large demonstrations during the Republican
Convention goes something like this: "If you
really want to end the war why don't you stay home
and work for McGovern especially now that he has
been nominated? Don't you realize that Nixon will
use any demonstration against him to connect McGovern with the radical left, thereby discrediting
him and securing his own re-election?"
Taken to its logical conclusion, that argument says that we should never demonstrate for
fear of alienating politicians who might be sympathetic to our demands, or else we might create a
backlash that would throw an election into the
hands of more conservative, right wing types.
But the facts indicate otherwise» It has
been the anti-war movement, starting with a small
core of people back in the early sixties, and demonstration after demonstration that has caused an
overwhelming majority of Americans to favor immediate withdrawal of all U.S» forces from Indochina, The anti-war movement made this year's
decidedly more liberal Democratic Convention and
McGovern's very candidacy a reality -- and Nixon's
defeat a possibility.
Washington '65, Chicago '68, Cambodia '70 --
the effect of the increasing pressure from the
left has been pretty extensive. - The fact that the
Republican Party decided to move the convention to
Miami even after so much time and money (and political wheeling and dealing) had been sunk into the
San Diego site is in large part proof of their fear
of another massive demonstration in 1972. And
now is not the time to let up on that pressure,
Nixon must not be allowed to escape the fact that
so many people oppose him, And McGovern must know
that we intend to keep the heat on him too -- that
assuming he is elected, any reneging on his promises
will not be tolerated,
Nixon will try to discredit McGovern as a
radical -- giving "aid and comfort to the enemy" --
whether the Republican convention is left in peace
or not j, that's assured, And McGovern and his aides
will have to deal with that if they want to win the
election» We can't sit back quietly and hope that
McGovern is elected and then count on him to follow
through with an end to the war; it is our responsibility to continue to raise our voices loud and
clear against the war, to force politicians to deal
with our demands„
Maybe ail these reasons for heading south.in
(#452) July 22, 1972 more,..